Cleaning Cauldrons
by expecto-patroniam
Summary: Lily gets stuck in detention with James - again. One-shot. Rated T for language. L/J


Lily Evans was pissed.

_Miss Evans,_

_Please report to my office at eight o'clock tonight for your detention with Mister Potter. Again._

_H. Slughorn_

Really, _really_ pissed.

She shoved the note carelessly in her bag and continued to stuff more chicken in her mouth angrily. _Why is this always happening to me?_ She stabbed her fork into another piece of chicken, brought it to her mouth and chewed.

"Whoa, Lily… I mean, that chicken already died once, no need to kill it again."

Lily shot a glare at her chuckling friend.

"Shut up, Marlene," she said her mouth full of chicken. She knew it was gross to eat with your mouth full. She knew Marlene hated people without table manners, always eating like a princess. But Lily didn't care. Because you know what else was gross? Doing a detention with James Potter.

"Was that another note from Slughorn?" Marlene asked already knowing the answer. Lily nodded. Marlene sighed. "Well, you don't have to take it out on the chicken," she muttered quietly, smiling at Lily, obviously hoping to cheer her friend up. It wasn't working.

Lily rolled her eyes and finally pushed her plate away. She was completely dreading tonight's detention. She had a ton of homework to do. She had to write an essay for Transfiguration (which she was half way through, thank Merlin), she had a bunch of Arithmancy problems to work on (which she would do as soon as she's finished with her Transfiguration essay), she had a chapter to read for Charms (which she'll have to skip), she had a report to write for Potions (which she will do last, or not even at all because Slughorn was pissing her off with all these detentions), and it was almost November and that meant that she had to fulfil her duties as Head Girl and finish the patrol schedule for all the Prefects (which she would make Potter do if he didn't always go easy on people he liked and make the Slytherin Prefects do most of the patrols).

_Why did this have to happen to me?_

* * *

"Evans, wait up!"

Lily was heading down to the dungeons slowly and sadly, but as soon as she heard him she immediately sped up.

"Evans!"

She pretended she didn't hear him. She turned the corner.

"_Lily!_"

"What?" she snapped as soon as he turned the corner too. Why couldn't he just leave her alone?

"Oh—uh… you're going down to the dungeons, right?" he stammered. She rolled her eyes at him and continued walking. "Well, I mean, I know you are, so let's go together," he grinned. He was way too happy to be going to another detention with her that it was giving Lily a headache.

Determined not to talk to him, she kept power walking her way to Slughorn's office, trying her hardest to keep her cool for as long as possible. However, being around Potter, that proved to be hard.

He kept talking and talking and _talking_. It's like they were going to die tomorrow and this was his last chance to say _everything in the world._ Lily wasn't exactly being very attentive, all she knew was that one minute he was telling her about what he wrote for his Transfiguration essay, the next was an anecdote from when he was nine, and then all of a sudden he was talking about how he was for sure going to win the match against Ravenclaw because he knew exactly what their plan was.

Oh this was going to be a _long_ night.

* * *

"So you'll be cleaning the cauldron's again," Slughorn said in a pained voice. It was hard giving your favourite student a detention. Lily tried to ignore the disappointed look Slughorn sent her. He had both hers and Potter's wand in one hand. With his other hand he waved his own wand and about twenty dirty cauldrons appeared along with any cleaning supplies they'll need and buckets full of soap and water. "Well, then… when you finish, come to my office and let me know," he said, leaving their Potions class and quietly closing the door.

Lily sighed. _Better get started soon. I don't want to be here until midnight… again._

It was mostly silent between the two Head students for about an hour as they worked. All you could hear was the sound of scrubbing and Lily's panting when she was working on a difficult cauldron.

"Merlin, why—won't—it—just—" she was scarping the bottom of her cauldron very aggressively. Eventually she gave up, letting her shoulder's drop and muscles relax. She huffed, blowing a strand of hair that fell in front of her eyes away. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Potter moving towards her. "No, I don't need—"

"It's okay," he said simply. He reached out to get the cauldron from her but Lily started to clean it again.

"I can do it, I don't need your help," she snapped. This would be the fourth time that he took a particularly difficult cauldron from her to clean it. In the past hour, they had both finished cleaning five cauldrons. Well, Lily had only done two on her own. Potter helped her by finishing three of hers.

"Yes, you do. Now just give me—"

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"Evans, I'm only trying to _help_ you!"

"I don't care, I don't need _your_ help!" Lily began scraping desperately again, knowing it wasn't making a difference. Potter knew too.

"Why won't you let me help you? Do you want to stay here until midnight?"

"With you? Of course not! I'd rather—" she paused.

"You would rather what?" Potter insisted his eyes narrowing.

She knew she was being mean. She knew he only wanted to help her, but she didn't want to be helped. She wanted to be able to do it on her own.

"Look, I don't know why you seem to hate me so much—" James started.

"You don't know? _You don't know?!_" Lily seethed.

"No, I don't, I only wanted to help you. You're always making such a big deal out of everything. I know it's partly my fault you got in detention—"

"James," Lily interrupted. "James, it was _fully_ your fault."

"Oh, come on! If—"

"James, listen. This isn't the first time it happened too. It's not the second, or the third, it's the _fifth_ time I got a detention because of you."

James didn't say anything.

Every time they got into detention for something stupid. And it was always in Potions class. For some reason James hated Potions class and acted out. It was by their third detention that Lily realized why. Severus Snape was in their class, and whenever Slughorn wasn't praising Lily, he was praising Snape. And every time Snape made sure to somehow rub it in James' face and show off. So James would try to get him back by involving Lily. Naturally, this would end horribly and with detention.

Slughorn hoped that if he gave them more detentions, they'd stop. But it clearly wasn't working.

The first time they had detention they had to clean cauldrons. The second, they cleaned cauldrons again. The third, they sorted all the Potions ingredients and had to make a list of any ingredients that needed to be ordered. The fourth, they had to scrub floors. And now—the fifth time—they were back to cleaning cauldrons. It seemed Professor Slughorn was running out of ideas.

Sometimes Lily felt like he purposely made the cauldrons dirty so he can punish them somehow.

"I just… I just wanted to help you…" James mumbled, looking away from her and running a hand through hair.

Lily didn't say anything for a while, and then, "Why?"

James looked up at her. "Why what? Why I wanted to help you?"

"No," Lily shook her head. "Why… why do you always, you know, like, _act out_ in Potions? I mean, I know it has something to do with Snape, but… what?"

James looked uncomfortable for a while.

"Well he you know… does that… and then he's like… and—he's just a slimy git," he finished, feeling very lame.

"Why do you always feel like you have to be better than him?" Lily questioned.

"I am better than him," James smiled. Lily narrowed her eyes at him. He dropped the smile. "Well, at least I don't go around poking my greasy nose into everyone's business. He's practically asking for it! Strutting around like he's some prince just because he can make a better Antidote to Veritaserum than me! I mean, I'm better than him at every other class, _and_ I'm Quidditch Captain, _and_ I'm Head Boy, _and_—"

He stopped abruptly.

"And what?" Lily asked suspiciously.

James took a deep breath. "Lily… you know he likes you, right?"

Lily felt her face heat up. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"He thinks that you'll like him back! He thinks that he has a chance with you! Don't you see—?"

"I get it. So you want to show him that _you_ can get me," Lily said flatly placing her hands on her hips. She started to feel her blood boil. She was sure her face was turning even more red—however this time it was because of the anger. Unfortunately for James, he didn't notice this.

"Yes!" he exclaimed. Then he seemed to notice Lily's murderous glare. "I mean—that's only if—you know… you want to… like I'm not saying—"

"Oh I think I know very well what you are saying, James Potter!" Lily yelled. "You want to show Snape that you can get me to go out with you, so that you can make him feel bad! Am I just some prize to you guys? Is this what it's all about? All those fights and hexes and bickering just to see who can get me first?"

James wished he had never said anything. He wished the ground would split open so he can throw himself in and just be anywhere but here. But since that wasn't about to happen, he had to face Lily's wrath.

"No, that's not at all what meant! Lily, _please_—"

"NO! YOU LISTEN TO ME, POTTER! I am a human being, I have feelings, and I don't want to be like some shiny trophy you can wave in front of Snape's face!"

"Lily—"

"I mean, _how dare you_—"

"Lily, just stop and listen to me!"

Lily tried to swallow her anger. Her crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly.

"Look," James tried to say calmly. "I didn't mean to make you feel like… an object. You are most certainly _not_ just 'some prize' to me. I mean, I don't about Snape, but you… mean much more than that to me," he mumbled the last part so quietly Lily almost didn't hear. He hoped she didn't hear that. He couldn't believe he had said it. His cheeks turned slightly pink, and he started to fiddle with his shirt. Lily's expression softened.

James Potter was _nervous_.

"I know you hate me, and you always say that you'd rather go out with the Giant Squid then me, but it just… _makes me so mad _when Snape even thinks that he could have a chance with you. Because he has absolutely no chance with you. You deserve someone better than Snape—and I know you think I'm just as bad as him,"—James winced—"but _I _don't."

He looked like he wanted to say more but he was struggled to find the right words. He kept staring at his shoes, as if they held the answer.

For the first time that night, Lily wasn't angry. She was feeling a little uncomfortable and slightly nervous—thought she didn't even know why—but she was no longer angry at James. She took a step closer to him. Not that he noticed, he was still seeking answers from his shoes.

"I would never call you a-a you-know-what, like he did," James continued. "I don't even believe any of that pure blood and dirty blood shit. I would never choose Dark Arts over you—like he did, I—" he wasn't even sure what he was saying anymore. He couldn't be talking Japanese for all he knew. Therefore, he was thankful when Lily put a hand on his arm to stop him.

"I don't hate you," she said quietly. He looked up at her. She was closer to him now. He could see her face so clearly. He could count all the freckles around her nose, and maybe even her eyelashes. Suddenly all of her features were standing out to him. Her dark red hair, her green eyes, her pale skin, her pink lips—_everything._

"W-what?" he asked stupidly.

"I don't hate you," she repeated, smiling a little. "I just really don't like it when you act like you're in a competition with Snape and I'm the prize. Because I'm not some prize. You don't even have any competition."

Too late she realized what she said. Both their eyes widened—hers in shock and horror, and his in surprise and joy.

"Wait, I didn't mean—" she stammered before she got interrupted.

"No competition, eh?" James smirked. He stood taller and puffed out his chest. "I know I don't have any competition. Especially not _Snape_."

"James, please," Lily insisted. "I meant that there's no competition between you or anyone else because—"

"—I already won you over," he finished for her, smiling from ear to ear.

Lily dropped her head in her hands. She was just making it worse.

"Wait 'til I tell Sirius about this."

"Oh no, you will do no such thing!"

"Why not? When should we start telling everyone that I have 'no competition'?" he asked smugly.

Deciding that the best way to deal with this was to ignore it, Lily turned back to her forgotten cauldron and began scarping. James was back to the non-stop talking, so Lily filled up her cauldron with some water from the closest bucket, made sure the water collected as much dirt from the cauldron as possible before splashing it at James.

He immediately froze. The water had gotten over his shirt, his face and some ever in his hair. He looked at her shocked while Lily started laughing at his face.

Clearly not liking being laughed at, James grabbed the whole bucket and threw the water over Lily. Now she stopped laughing.

"How does that feel, huh?" James asked.

"Cold," Lily replied, not at all surprised that he would do that.

"Aw, c'mere, I can warm you up," James teased spreading his arms wide open, trying to hug her.

Lily squealed and ran away to next closest bucket of water, holding it out in front of her threateningly.

"Watch out, Potter, I'm armed," she said seriously.

"As if!" James laughed. The bucket was too heavy for Lily so he easy pulled it away from her, effectively pulling her towards him. He grabbed her by the waist.

Lily didn't like being so close to him simply for the reason that she actually _liked_ being close to him. If that made sense. She could feel the so-called butterflies fluttering around in her stomach, as she looked straight into his hazel eyes.

"Hey, Evans?" James muttered bringing his face close to hers.

"Yeah, Potter?" Lily breathed, feeling slightly dizzy.

"Wanna go out with me?" He whispered in her ear.

Without even hesitating, she squeaked out a quiet 'yes'. She could practically feel James smiling into her hair.

"Great," he said happily, and then he gave her a small kiss on her cheek. Her face was a little wet but he didn't mind. Before she can even register what happened, he pulled away from her, grabbed the cauldron she was working on, and continuing cleaning as if nothing had happened, while Lily stood there frozen.

And then Lily Evans finally admitted to herself that maybe James Potter wasn't such a bad guy after all.


End file.
